Black History Month

Floor Speech

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Mr. FIGURES. Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise today to co-anchor this Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour along with my distinguished colleague from Oregon (Ms. Bynum).

For the next 60 minutes, Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have an opportunity to speak directly to the American people about Black History Month, an issue of great importance not only to the Congressional Black Caucus but to Congress, the constituents we represent, and to all Americans.

It is a privilege to be able to stand here today. Black History Month is not just an opportunity to reflect on our past, but it is certainly an opportunity to uplift our present and renew the cause to fight for our future.

I begin with a story because Black History Month is often thought of as a time to recognize those historical figures that we all know: the Martin Luther Kings of the world, the John Lewises of the world, Rosa Parks, and others. Black History Month is about more than just those who are known. It is about a lot of those who are not known.

I begin with a story of a few young men in the State of Alabama. Following what history has come to label as the end of the civil rights movement in 1968, in 1969, four young men had been intentionally recruited to break down a color barrier at the University of Alabama's law school.

Eight young men walked through the doors of the University of Alabama School of Law in the fall of 1969. Among them was a young man named John, a young man named Ronald, a young man named Booker T., and a young man named Michael.

This was a time when the civil rights movement had ended, the struggles to realize the progress that America has made throughout the decade-plus of fighting and protesting. It was about leveling those playing fields and equaling the opportunity and access for people like these young men.

They walked through the doors as the first African Americans to come into the University of Alabama's law school, and they would all ultimately become lawyers: John England, Booker T. Forte, Ronald Jackson, and Michael Figures.

Black history in America is a story of resilience and excellence and an unshakeable pursuit of justice, an unshakeable commitment to making this country, as Martin Luther King would say: ``Be true to what you said on paper,'' for all of us.

From the Halls of Congress to the streets of our communities, Black leaders and educators and entrepreneurs and activists have shaped this Nation. Yet, we know that honoring this history isn't just about reflection. It is about action because that is what we owe people. That is what we owe people.

I come from Alabama, the birthplace of the civil rights movement, a place at a time when this Nation and this world was experiencing injustices that we cannot fathom today; and a place where people, based simply on the color of their skin, could not eat in certain places, work in certain places, be educated in certain places, or live in certain places.

The people of Alabama, particularly Montgomery, Alabama, stood up at a point when many cities and towns and people in those cities and towns across this country had a rightful fear of standing up in that way. Montgomery said: No.

In 1955, when they launched a bus boycott, little did they know that they were giving rise to the greatest civil movement that the world has ever seen and that the world has ever known, led by a young minister who was a mere 26 years old at the time: Martin Luther King, Jr.

This movement would give rise to what America proudly holds itself out to be today. That is that place of equal opportunity, that place of equal access, and that place of equal justice.

This is a movement that was rooted in people. It was rooted in people who had a faith in a nation that, when we look back at history, we wonder: How could they? How could they? How could people who came from such a history of segregation and degradation, slavery and Jim Crow, how could they remain steadfast in a commitment to a country? How could they have that love for a country that history had shown them did not love them in the same manner?

They held it because they knew that the greatness of America was really about what America could be and what it could be for them. Even if they came here in the bowels of slave ships, even if they slaved as laborers in cotton fields, they knew that America one day could be better for them and could be better for their children and their grandchildren.

That is what Black History Month is about. It is about recognizing the unwavering faith that people, who had every reason not to have such faith, maintained in this Nation and the contributions that they made to making America be true to what it said on paper.

When you have understanding and an appreciation where Black people in this country have come from, literally from the bottom, literally with nothing, literally as second- and third- and fourth-class citizens and noncitizens initially; when it is understood that when this building was built, people who looked like me could only be here for three reasons: To either build it, clean it, or serve food; when it is understood that when this country was formalized in a Constitution people who looked like me were not deemed to be an entire person-- barely just more than a half a person--three-fifths of a person is what Black people were counted as, then it is understood why many of us are very sensitive to efforts to attack things like diversity and efforts to attack things like equity and inclusion, because we know that we come from a culture and from a people who had to deal with adversity, inequity, and purposeful exclusion for centuries; when all we wanted was a level playing field; when all we wanted was the same opportunities as others.

We never asked for special treatment. We never wanted to be recognized in any way that others were not recognized, but they held on to that faith for this Nation, and they led us to being a better place.

Coming from that background, several actions of this administration strike a little bit differently. It stings a little bit more when things happen like the rolling back of an EEOC order that has been in place since 1962 that was meant to make sure that people were not discriminated against.

It means something a little bit different when the administration hits a pause on funding to 1890 land-grant institution scholarships while not hitting a pause on that funding to 1862 land-grant institution scholarships.

It hits a little bit differently when Auburn University, a predominantly White institution, is not impacted, but Alabama A&M University and Tuskegee University are impacted. One must ask: What is the difference between an 1862 school, a Texas A&M and Auburn University and LSU, and an 1890 school, an Alabama A&M and a Tuskegee?

When one looks at the facts, it is the fact that the 1890s were historically Black colleges and universities. That stings a little bit differently. It hits a little bit differently when there is an understanding of the history of where people come from, that one of the first actions that had to be taken after the administration came in was going to bat to make sure that the Tuskegee Airmen remained a part of the curriculum in training our Nation's airmen--something so basic, something so nonpartisan, something that we should all be able to agree on--that a group of men who went and put their lives on the line for a world, for a country, that, when they returned home, they were still called the N-word.

They were still forced to sit in the back of the bus. They were still told to take off their uniforms. They were still told that they were not good enough. They still could not send their kids to school in much of this country's public school systems. Yet, because of a diversity, equity, and inclusion ban, we had to go to bat for them.

It wasn't just Democrats. There were Republicans, too, who saw that that was an issue that we should not have. Senator Katie Britt from my home State was there with us, as was the Congressional Black Caucus and other Members across this country.

It is the attacks that we see on such things that hits a little bit differently during Black History Month because it is a failure to acknowledge the history. It is a failure to acknowledge a group of people who persevered through the worst of circumstances in this Nation, a group of people who literally emerged from bondage, a group of people who emerged from torture, from rape, from kidnapping, and from family separation.

That is why it means so much to us. That is why it is important that we recognize Black History Month because contributions have been made by dozens of people, hundreds of people, thousands of people, millions of people who were not supposed to be in this country as citizens. Yet, here we are, and here we stand.

Although, when this building was built, there were zero Members who looked like us, there now stands 62. We know that we have an obligation to stand up and respect that history because Black history is not just for me. It is not just my history.

That young man named Michael Figures who walked into University of Alabama's law school, he would have a son. He would have four sons. One of them is named Shomari Figures, who stands here today as a Member of Congress because of the fights of him and the fights of those known and unknown before him.

Black history is not only my history. Black history is your history, whether you like it or not. It is our history. Black history is American history. Black history is who we are. That is why we must continue the fight to make sure that we honor the contributions and the sacrifices that so many people have made.

It is to make sure that we do not go back, to make sure that it is clearly understood that our efforts throughout the civil rights movement and since have only been to make sure that we have a level playing field, have only been to make sure that I can't be excluded when I have the exact same qualifications as you.

I stand here today as a proud son of a father and mother who have both made Black history in their own right. I stand before you here today as the proud grandson of men who set the stage.

Most Black people in this country don't come from privilege. I consider myself to be blessed. I think here in Congress, a lot of the time, we see a lot of people born on third base thinking they hit a triple. That is the unfortunate reality of where we find ourselves-- people forgetting where they came from, people forgetting what we went through, people forgetting how we got here in the first place, people forgetting the struggle, people forgetting what we overcame, people forgetting what we could not have and why we fight so hard for what we do have and to be able to maintain it in the future.

I don't forget. I won't forget. I cannot forget because every day I walk in here is a reminder of what was sacrificed for me. Every day that I have the privilege of calling myself a United States citizen, a United States Representative, is a reminder for me of what it took for myself and for people like me to be able to stand here.

I know I was born on first base because my grandparents made sacrifices for my father to be able to step up to the plate and swing for the fences, and swing for the fences he did. He broke down color barriers in his own right. He gave his life to public service, and he died one day at a dinner table, but what did not die with him was an appreciation, an understanding, a recognition of where we have been, what we have been through, how we got here, and what we must do to ensure that future generations enjoy the same opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, it is now my privilege to yield to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bynum).

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Mr. FIGURES. Clarke), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Janelle Bynum from the great State of Oregon and Congressman Shomari Figures from the great State of Alabama for co-anchoring tonight's Congressional Black Caucus Special Order hour.

I rise today with my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus to commemorate Black History Month and to reflect on the innumerable contributions to our country that Black Americans have made throughout our Nation's history.

During Black History Month, we celebrate the generations of Black Americans whose courage, advocacy, sacrifice, and patriotism have moved our Nation and the world forward. From Reconstruction and the Great Migration to the success of Black Wall Street, the jazz age, the Harlem Renaissance, the civil rights movement, and beyond, there is no time in history that Black people have not contributed to the vitality and success of our country.

As chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am proud that as our caucus has grown from 13 visionary members in 1971 to a historic 62 members in the year 2025, 4 of whom serve in the United States Senate, we have continued fighting to dismantle barriers, create opportunities, and protect the rights of our communities.

Throughout our Nation's history, the Congressional Black Caucus has been called to confront countless threats to our communities, our educational attainment, our economic prosperity, and our health and well-being. Time and again, we have answered the call and stood in the breach on behalf of Black America and the values that make our country strong.

Under the shadow of the Trump administration, we are being called to yet another unprecedented and consequential time in the history and life of our country that we must address head-on.

With the creation of the 14th Amendment, America took one step toward rectifying its original sin of slavery and protecting the birthright citizenship of all Black Americans. Threats from President Trump to the 14th Amendment have put Black America, once again, in a perilous position. Today, we are facing cruelty and threats to the very fabric of our democracy and existence.

As the Trump administration seeks to continue to take our country back in time, the Congressional Black Caucus stands at the front lines of protecting our communities and calling out these and other thinly veiled attempts to erase centuries of progress for Black America.

This administration's recent actions aimed at taking away critical tools of success and our fundamental freedoms will not go unanswered.

On the shoulders of our Founders, we will continue to push back against efforts to impede our progress, erase our history, and cut off our access to capital and better opportunities in our communities.

This month and every month, we will continue to make clear that the contributions of Black Americans will not and cannot be erased, undermined, or undone.

We will continue to fight for access to the ballot box, fair representation, diversity initiatives, and our fundamental freedoms, which are, sadly, under threat each and every day.

As the conscience of the Congress, we will not sit back and be silent as these attacks on our communities continue. Our history, Black history, is American history, and we are not going back.

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Mr. FIGURES. Stansbury).
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Mr. FIGURES. Kaptur).

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Mr. FIGURES. Mr. Speaker, as we bring this Special Order to a close, I again highlight the fact that the celebration of Black history is not a celebration of just a few individuals who did some notable things. Black history is about celebrating the faith that an entire people, an entire culture had and the potential of what this Nation could be: A faith that was unshakable. A faith in their God. A faith in this Nation. A faith that America could be America for them, too.

They held on to this. We still hold to it. Through the darkest days of this country, when Black people could literally only hold onto the security and four walls of a church, where they could sing hymns like ``I Will Trust in the Lord'' or ``Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior'' or ``Take My Hand, Precious Lord.'' Precious Lord, take my hand Lead me on, let me stand I am tired, I'm weak, I am worn Through the storm, through the night Lead me on to the light. That is where we come from.

I stand here before you just three generational lines removed from slavery, and I know that sounds crazy. That is how close we are from where we came from. The faith that my great-grandparents had at that same generational line, where we had people born in my family into slavery, to come just three generations, it is that same faith that leads me here. It is that same faith that led my father to break down those color barriers at an institution where just a few years before a Governor stood and declared that segregation today, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever. It is that same faith that led him to apply to that law school where just a few years before his older brother applied and was told send us a picture. He refused to do so.

We celebrate that faith. We celebrate that resilience, that resolve, that perseverance. That is what Black History Month is about, and that is why we continue to hold on to that faith, because we, too, believe that America is still America for us, too. It is America for all of us.

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